Trials
Trials & Tribulations is the first full-length studio album by American hip-hop artist b-Rabbit. The album was released by indie label BranFlakes Records on December 7, 2013. The album is a concept album that explores the concepts of death, loneliness, emotional turmoil, domestic violence, and heartache. Guest appearances made on the album include singers like Jinyeon, Joey Claris and Stephanie Kay; spoken word artists Billy Dragon and Elaine Sharp; Nate Monoxide is the only rapper featured on the album. Background The album was first announced in December 2011 as being planned for release in December of 2012 with writing and recording taking place shortly after the release of The b-Rabbit EP ''on April 4, 2012. Originally the album was titled ''The b-Rabbit LP and was planned as a sequel to his 2012 EP. During the writing for the then-titled b-Rabbit LP, many personal issue began striking b-Rabbit including the death of his grandmother which eventually inspired him to turn the album from a Christian record to a pure hip-hop album. Suffering from depression, b-Rabbit began writing more emotionally charged lyrcis and officially announced the album's new title, Trials & Tribulations, on December 31, 2012 and released the first single on January 19, 2013. A large portion of the album was written between May and August of 2013 after b-Rabbit's girlfriend of two years broke up with him. This marks the second album by b-Rabbit to feature songs heavily influenced by this girl (the first being 2011's b-Rabbit Presents: The Perfect 2). Muscial Style and Themes b-Rabbit has described the sound of Trials & Tribulations ''as "emo rap" and is a far step away from his previous releases. His rapping is a unique blend of spoken word and smooth, slow styles bringing about comparisons to Snoop Dogg and Macklemore. The album consists mainly of piano-driven beats and utilizes the sound effect of rain to build on the emotions of the listener. The album has been described as a concept album exploring concepts of death, loneliness, and emotional turmoil. Lyrically the album is more advanced than previous releases by b-Rabbit and is full of allusions and references to pop culture and events. Over the course of the record b-Rabbit references the television program ''48 Hours; "When I'm Gone" by Eminem; Russian feminist group Pussy Riot; Paul Shanley, an American priest convicted of raping a child; "Scream & Shout" by will.i.am featuring Britney Spears; the religious poem "Footprints;" Korean boyband BIGBANG and their fan base; musical group the Bee Gees and their song "Stayin' Alive;" American rapper P. Diddy and his song "Come With Me;" the 1998 American flm Godzilla; Japanese anime Fruits Basket; children's song "London Bridge;" "Life Goes On" by Tupac; "Beautiful" by Eminem; and the 2013 zombie-bath salts scare. Two songs on the album include some foreign lyrics: "She's Gone" features a few Korean phrases and "Revelations" features one Russian phrase. Cover Art and Title The cover art for Trials & Tribulations features a red heart inside of a shattered black heart. The red heart is a symbol of hope that no matter issues you may be facing, you can get through it.The title represents the struggles that everyone has to deal with at one point or another and was chosen to enforce the idea that rappers can feel pain and sadness just like anyone else. Release The album was originally released as two extened plays each with five songs on it. Trials & Tribulations: Part One was released on November 19, 2013 with tracks #1-2 and #7-9. Trials & Tribulations: Part Two was released on December 3, 2013 with tracks #3-6 and #11. The full album was released on December 7, 2013 and featured two bonus tracks. Track List The track listing was released on December 5, 2013, just two days prior to the album's release. Sample credits *Track 3 features an uncredited vocal sample by Angelica Vega *Track 4 contains elements from "The Leaders" as performed by G-Dragon featuring Teddy & CL *Track 6 contains a sample from "Jar of Hearts" as performed by Christina Perri *Track 7 contains elements from a speech by President Barack Obama; "Misty Blue" as performed by Dorothy Moore *Track 8 contains a sample from "One" as performed by Three Dog Night *Track 9 contains a sample from "Fallin'" as performed by Macklemore. *Track 11 contains a sample from "Here Comes Goodbye" as performed by Rascal Flatts Singles The first single released off the album was "Broken Hearts (Album Version)" which featured vocals from Canadian singer Jinyeon. It was released on January 19, 2013 as a free download and features the same instrumental as the original "Broken Hearts" while debuting brand new lyrics. "Story of a Lonely Guy" served as the second single and was released on April 13, 2013 as a free download and was the first song from b-Rabbit to feature a Parental Advisory sticker. The song was released in multiple versions: the censored music video version, uncensored single version, and the uncensored album version which features vocals from Stephanie Kay. The third single released was "#PRAYforBOSTON" which impacted the internet on June 26, 2013 and was sold for $1.29 a download. All proceeds were donated to One Fund Boston to help aid in the relief of Boston following the Boston Marathon bombing. On October 26, 2013 a fourth single, "Victoria (Dear. Daddy)," was released as a free download. "Love / Hate" served as the fifth and final single and was released on Christmas Eve at midnight. Personnel *b-Rabbit - Vocals, Lyrics, Producer *Joey Claris - Vocals, Lyrics, Producer *Barack Obama - Vocals, Lyrics *Billy Dragon - Vocals, Lyrics *Christina Perri - Vocals, Lyrics *Elaine Sharp - Vocals, Lyrics *Jinyeon - Vocals, Lyrics *Macklemore - Vocals, Lyrics *Nate Monoxide - Vocals, Lyrics *Stephanie Kay - Vocals, Lyrics *Chuck Negron - Vocals *Dorothy Moore - Vocals *Gary LeVox - Vocals *Bob Montgomery - Lyrics *Chris Sligh - Lyrics *Clint Lagerberg - Lyrics *Harry Nilsson - Lyrics *4 Beats Production - Producer *Cipher - Producer *I-S Productions - Producer *Loszt Beats - Producer *Omito - Producer *Ryan Lewis - Producer *S.B.P - Producer *YT Beatz - Producer *Zitrox Beatz - Producer Release history Category:Debut albums Category:2013 albums Category:Emo